Ice making apparatus



enllllllll Ilxnw 2 Sheets-Sheet l G. S. HILL ICE MAKING APPARATUS new -bz Filed April 27, 1943 May 1, 1945.,

Inventor* Geofge S. Hill,

z. M His Attorney.

May l, 1945.W

G. S. HILL ICE MAKING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2v Filed April 27, 19.43

Inventor: lGemge 5. Hill,

7 f lv'is Attoney..

Patented May 1, 1945 N A.2,314,997l` UNITED STATES PATENT AOFFICE ICE MAKING APPARATUS George S. Hill, North East, Pa., assigner to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application April 27, 1943, seria1N0..4s4,12e

l (c1. ca -2) 9 claims.

in the form of small blocks without the necessity of providing great numbers of molds. I Difliculty has been experienced with apparatus of this type because of the necessity of providing measured quantities of the water or other liquid to-be frozen so that the molds will not overflow and spill the liquid about the apparatus. Accordingly, it is an object of my invention to provide an improved apparatus for-automatically making blocks of ice or similar material.

It is another object of my invention to provide apparatus for making'blocks of ice or similar material, and which includes an improved arrangement fo-r facilitating the removal of blocks.

of ice from the freezing mold.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds, and the features of novelty which characterize my invention will be pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification.

For a better understanding of my invention, reference may be had to the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a partial fron-t elevation view of a household vrefrigerator provided with an ice making apparatus embodying my `invention; Fig. 2 is an enlarged lsectional side elevation of the ice making apparatus shown in Fig. l; Fig. 3 is a front elevation view of a` portion of the apparatus shown `in Fig. 2; and Fig.

mechanism andeject ice blocks periodically until the supply of liquid has been exhausted.

Referring now to the drawings, the refrigerator illustrated in Fig. 1 comprises a thermally insulated cabinet I0 having a door II for closing a food storage compartment I2; an evaporator or cooling unit I3 is provided to cool the air within `the `food `storage compartment and thereby to cool articles which may be placed on grills or `shelves I4 Within the compartment.

The evaporator I3 provides a freezing chamber closed by a door I5, this chamber being suitable ,for Vthe storage of frozen foods and also for freezing water desserts and the like. In order to provide ya. supply of ice blocks without `the necessity of using up the storage space within the evaporator, an ice freezing apparatus I6 is mounted at the side of the evaporator I3 and is arranged to receive water from a supply reserl collecting pan or receiver I8.

voir or bottle I'I and to supply ice blocks to a The freezing apparatus I6 is operated automatically in a manner which is described below and produces a quantity of ice blocks determined by the capacity of the water reservoir I'I, the receiver I8 being made sufficiently large to accommodate the blocks formed.

The details of construction of the ice freezing mechanism are more clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The freezing mechanism IB is securely held against theside 'of the evaporator I3 on 'a supporting structure including vertical members 20 and 2| and an anglev iron cross piece 22. Bolts or cap screws 23 are threaded into the cross piece 22 and, when tightened into place, press a block 24 constructed of aluminum or other suitfor the apparatus shownin the other figures.

Briefly, the freezing apparatus illustrated in the drawings comprises a freezing cell arranged to be cooled by the evaporator of a refrigerating machine and an arrangement for supplying liquid to be frozen from a thermally insulated chamber below the cell. An ice block ejecting plunger is provided which is actuated by a cam mechanism, the `arrangement being such that the cell is automatically filled upon the restoration of the ejecting plunger to its normal position. The head of 'the plunger may be constructed so thatit closes the lower end of the cell and forms the bottom wall of the ice mold and the upper portion of the walls of the `insulated chamber below the cell is constructed y to form the lower portion'of the side wall of the able material of good heat conductivity tightly against the side of fthe evaporator I3 in good heat exchange relation with the liquid refrigerant .within the evaporator. provided with a slightly tapered substantially cylindrical recess or cell 25 extending therethrough. A chamber or condenser 26 constructedof heat insulating material is mounted immediately below the block 24 with its upper portion threaded into the block and having a throat or opening in alignment with the cell 25 and constituting a continuation thereof. The cell 25 as thus formed` in the block 24 and in the throat of the condenser 26 constitutes the ice freezing cell or mold of the apparatus. The freezing cell is closed at its lower end by a plunger head 2'I and the plunger is arranged to be moved upwardly through the cell by operation of a rod 28. The'chamber 26 is maintained filled with water supplied from a pan 30 througha tube 13|. The level of the water within the pan 30 is `maintained near the top of the cell 25, the level being determined by the level of an outlet 32 from the reservoir Il; the outlet 32 is fitted with a cap member 33 vhaving an outlet boss 34 The block 24 is within the pan 30. The level is maintained by the water seal formed about the opening in the boss 34 which prevents the admission of air to the reservoir I1, the level @being restored whenever the pan 30 is drained sufficiently to admit air to the reservoir I1. A valve 35 is mounted on a rod 36 passing through the boss` 34 so that the reservoir I1 may be removed, filled with water and returned without spilling. The valve 35 closes the outlet when the reservoir I1 is lifted from its position as shown, the valve 35 dropping into its position over the boss 34 whenthe rod 36 is lifted from the pan 30.

The plunger 21 is constructed, so that it affords passage of water from the lower portion of the chamber 26 to the mold 25, a plurality of passages =38 having been provided for this purpose. The plunger head 21 is constructed so that it is readily movable withinjthe cell 25, and it may be made of substantially smaller diameter than the internal diameterl of the cell.

When water is admitted to the cell 25 the upper portion freezes around the heat conducting walls formed by the block 24. The presence of the insulating wall 26 prevents or delays the freezing of water in the lower portion of the cell so that the plunger 21 is not frozen into place.

In order to eject ice blocks from the cell 25 periodically, a cam 39 is provided to actuate the plunger rod 28. The cam is driven through a gear 4U and pinion 4I by an electric motor 42 arranged on a bracket 43 outside the cabinet I0. The cam 39 is connected to the gear 40 by a shaft 44 journaled in a bearing 45 on a mounting plate 46 on the outsidel wall of the cabinet. The shaft 44 is also mounted in bearings formed in supporting members 41 and 48 which are secured at their upper ends to the block 24. The lower end of the plunger rod 28 is secured to a crosshead 50 having a roller 5I mounted on a shaft 52, the ends of the shaft 52 extend through slots 53 and 54 in the side members 41 and 48, respectively to guide the crosshead. The roller I is held against the surface of the cam 39 by a compression spring 55 arranged between the crosshead 56 and a support 56. The support 56 holds the container 26 rigidly in position with respect to the side members 41 and 48. In order to seal the chamber 26 about the rod 28 an expansible sealing bellows 51 is secured to the rod 28 and to` a bottom closure member 58 of the chamber 26. The bellows may be constructed of rubber or similar material, or may be of metal. When the rod 28 is raised to press the plunger head 21 against a frozen block such as indicated at 68, the `bellows 51 expands so that the loss of volume due to the removal of the block 60 is compensated substantially, and the new supply of water from the chamber 36 flows into the chamber 26 as the plunger is returned to its lower position after ejection of an ice block. This compensating action minimizes surging and splashing of the wa-ter during the return of the plunger. This minimizes any increase in level of the water within the pan 30- and the cell due -to withdrawing of excess water from the time is allowed to insure freezing of the block to a desired depth. Since the tendency toward freezing the water around the plunger head 21 is minimized, a single setting of the rate or period of the control will be found adequate over a considerable range of temperatures of the evaporator.

When an ice block is moved upwardly through the cell 25, it engages a spring finger 6I which extends across the path of movement of the block; this bends the finger upwardly then as the block vis pushed out of the cell, the nger presses the block toward the right and ejects or throws it laterally into the collecting pan I8. The collecting pan I8 is held in contact with the walls of the evaporator I3 to which it is removably secured by a bayonet fitting 62. The temperature of the pan I8 may thus be maintained below freezing; ice blocks ejected from the cell` are thrown immediately into the container and freezing ltogether of the blocks is minimized.

The control arrangement for the motor 42 is shown in Fig. 4. A synchronous timing motor is connected across a suitable source of alternating current, indicated at `(i6, whenever a switch 61 is closed. The timing motor 65 is provided with a gear box 68 which rota-tes a cam 69 at a rate determined by the freezing time for an ice block within the cell. On each revolution, the cam 69 closes a switch 16 which energizes .a solenoid or coil 1Il to operate a switch 12. The

lower contacts of the switch 12 close the circuit of the motor 42 and start the rotation of the gear 4D. When the gear rotates a cam 13 allows a switch 14 to close, the switch 14 together with the upper contacts of the switch 12 provides a holding circuit for the coil 1I. This maintains the motor 42 in operation regardless of the position of the cam 69 until rthe gear 4D has made one complete revolution. The relative rates of rotation of the cam 69 and the gear 40 are such that the-switch 10 will always be opened before the gear 46 has completed one revolution. ,At lthe end of one revolution of the gear 46 the cam 't3 opens the switch 14 thereby deenergizing the coil 1I and stopping the motor 42.

When it is desired to operate the freezing apparatus shown in the drawings, the reservoir or bottle I1 is removed from the refrigerator and the cap 3,3 unscrewed from the outlet A32, the reservoir is-'then filled with water and the cap replaced and the outlet 32 is turned in its downward position. The reservoir is placed on its reservoir I1 while the plunger 21 is in its top supports in the refrigerator with the outlet 32 in 'the pan 30 so that the bottom of the pan engages the rod 36 and opens the valve 35 thereby iilling the reservoir 30 to its normal level. The switch 61 is then turned to its on position, it being understood that the evaporator I3 is in operation Ito provide a freezing temperature. The size of the first block 60 ejected from the mechanism depends, of course, upon the position of the cam 69 when the switch 61 was last turned to its off position. However, the blocks ejected after the first block will normally be a uniform size. The operation of the mechanism to freeze and eject ice blocks will continue as long as there is a supply of water to fil-l the cell to its freezing level. The size of the ice receiver I8 is preferably sufcient to hold at least one batch of ice as determined by the quantity of the water in the reservoir I1. After this quantity of ice has been frozen, the switch 61 is turned to its off position and the receiver I8 may be re'- conventional household size, and make it possible to leave the interior of the evaporator free for the storage of frozen foods or an ice supply and thus avoid the necessity of employing-the interior of the evaporator both for freezing and storage.

While I have shown an arrangement of my inq vention in connection with a household refrigerating machine and a particular arrangement for cooling the freezing mold, other applications will readily be apparentto those skilled in the art. I do not, therefore, desire myV invention to be limited to the particular construction shown and described, and I intend by the appended claims to cover all modifications within the spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l'. An apparatus for making `blocks of ice or similar material comprising a cell having at least a portion of its walls constructed of heat conducting material, a plunger arranged to close said cell near -the bottom thereof, a conduit of heat insulating material connected incommunication with the lower portion `of said cell `for admitting to said cell liquid to be frozen, means for cooling a wall of said cell to freeze the liquid near the bottom) of said cell, means for pressing an ice block upwardly through said cell to eject said block, and a spring linger arranged at the top of said cell in the path of the ejected ice block for forcingthe ejected block laterally away from said cell. I

3. An apparatus for making blocks of ice or similar material comprising a, cell having heat conducting side walls, a plunger arranged to close said cell near the bottom thereof, means for supplying to said cell liquid to be frozen, means for cooling the walls of said cell, to freeze the liquid therein, means for preventing freezing of the liquid at the bottom of said cell, and means arranged to move said plunger upwardly through said cell for ejecting a frozen block therefrom.

4. An apparatus for making blocks of ice or similar material comprising an upright cell and l a plunger arranged adjacent the bottom por-` tion of said cell, said cell having the lower portion of its side walls constructed of heat insulating material and lthe upper portion thereof of heat` conducting material, means for cooling said upper portion of said walls to freeze liquid in said cell, and means for imparting `upward movement to -said plunger to eject frozen blocks from said cell.

`5. An apparatus for making blocks of ice or` similar material comprising an upright cell and a plunger arranged adjacent the bottom portion `of. said cell, said cell having the lower portion of its side walls constructed of heat insulating material and the upper portion thereof of heat conducting material, means for cooling said upper portion of said walls to freeze liquid in said cell, means for imparting upward `movement to said plunger to eject a frozen block from said cell,

and liquid supply means for conducting liquid q to thelower portion of said cell whereby said cell i is supplied with liquid upon upward movement of said plunger during the ejection of the frozen block.

6 An apparatus for making blocks of ice or similar material comprising an upright cell having heat conducting upper side walls, a thermally insulated chamber having an upper portion forming the lower side walls of said cell and the remaining portion of the chamber constituting an extension of the side Walls of said cell i for moving said plunger upwardly through said cell for ejecting a frozen `block from said cell.

7. An apparatus for making blocks of ice or similar material comprising a cell having heat conducting side Walls, Imeans for maintaining in communica-tion'with said cell `a constant supply of `liquid at a level to fill said cell, means for cooling the heat conducting walls of said cell to freeze the portion of said liquid supply adjacent said walls, means for preventing the freezing of said supply of liuqid at the bottom of said cell, and means for pushing the frozen block upwardly out of said cell, whereby said cell is re-` filled from said supply.

`8. An apparatusfor making 'blocks of ice or similar material comprising a cell having heat conducting side walls, means for maintaining in communication with said cell a constant 1supply of liquid at a level to fill said cell, means for cooling a wall of said mold to freeze the portion of said liquid supply therein, means for preventing the freezing of said supply of liquid at the bottom of said cell, a block ejecting plunger arranged below said heat conducting wall of said cell, and automa-tic means for operating said plunger periodically to eject the ice block formed therein whereby said cell is periodically refilled from said supply.

9. An apparatus for making blocks of ice orv similar material comprising a cell, means including a chamber below said cellfor maintaining a constant supply of liquid to be frozen at a level corresponding to the top level in said cell, means for freezing the liquid in the upper portion of said cell, a plunger arranged below said upper portion of said cell for ejecting the frozen material upwardly from said cell, said plunger 

